Story by Allison Boggan, Staff writer

Photos courtesy of Trae Blanco

The midterm season can be especially chaotic for students. For this reason, Trae Blanco, director of university bands, posted two signs in the band room to encourage the students.

Soon after, a custodian left a note of encouragement and praise for all of the music students.

“A couple days after I posted the signs, I found a note on the chalkboard one morning and it was pretty great,” BIanco said. “I waited to share it with the students until we really needed an extra push. We, of course, shared the pictures of the note on social media and I’m happy to say it got a lot of attention.”

The note touched both students and faculty and provided them the confidence and inspiration to keep going and do their best  through the rest of the semester.

Kaylee Silvey, sophomore from Russellville, KY, shared the note and its impact on her personal struggle on social media.

“Our director, Dr. Blanco, read the note to us after he had found it in hopes of pepping us up for the concert. It made me tear up quite a bit, and he teared up some as well. It was a very heartwarming note, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for me,” Silvey said.

Silvey explained that she felt lost in her major and the note confirmed in her mind that she was right where she was supposed to be.

“Quite literally the day before, I had a meeting with my advisor about potentially switching majors. I am currently in music education, and I have felt so broken and confused lately,” Silvey said. “The note made me remember why I was in the degree in the first place. It helped me in a particularly rough spot in my semester, and that’s why I shared it.”

Neither Blanco nor Silvey ever imagined that the note would gather so much attention, but both agree that they are glad it helped other people when they needed it.

“I only wanted to share the note because it had touched me so much, and I was hoping to pass it along in case anybody else needed to hear the same thing,” Silvey said. “I truly hope that Sam, the custodian who wrote the note, was okay with that! I don’t think either of us intended for it to get that much attention. It really meant a lot to me, though.”

Blanco is thankful that the music custodial staff appreciates the effort the students put into their craft and recognizes that the department would not be what it is without the work the custodians do every day.

“The custodial staff recognizes the hard work and dedication of the students, and in return, our students are grateful for all that the staff does to help our building feel like a home away from home,” Blanco said.